Food Packaging, Branding and Marketing Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Brand Managers, Product Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-M-061

Before you join: Participants should have basic experience in marketing, brand management, product development, packaging, category management or food commercial roles.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Food packaging must protect the product, meet legal requirements, communicate brand value and persuade shoppers within seconds. A pack can lose sales through unclear hierarchy, weak claims, poor shelf visibility, impractical formats or messaging that conflicts with the wider brand. Teams also face difficult choices around sustainable materials, cost, recyclability, online retail imagery and different consumer expectations across markets.

This course develops the practical marketing skills required to create food packaging that performs commercially and responsibly. Participants examine shopper behaviour, category conventions, brand positioning, pack architecture, visual identity, labelling, claims, structural formats and retail execution. They use Jobs to be Done, brand positioning statements, shelf analysis, consumer decision trees and packaging briefs to make informed creative and commercial decisions. The programme also addresses e-commerce presentation, product launches, trade communication, portfolio consistency and performance measurement.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with food and beverage case work, pack audits, group critiques, simulated agency reviews and individual application planning. Participants work progressively on a selected food product or product range, applying each module's methods to build their own packaging and marketing proposal. They leave with a packaging marketing plan, positioning platform, packaging brief, claims checklist, shelf and e-commerce review, and launch measurement framework that can be adapted for use with internal teams, agencies, manufacturers and retailers.

The course suits marketing, brand, product, packaging, category and commercial professionals who already work with food products or consumer brands. It is particularly useful for those responsible for relaunches, new product development, private-label ranges, export products or packaging improvement programmes.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose shopper needs using Jobs to be Done interviews and category decision trees
  • Create a food brand positioning platform with a defined value proposition
  • Develop packaging architecture for product ranges, variants and pack-size tiers
  • Write an agency-ready packaging brief covering objectives, constraints and success measures
  • Evaluate food labels and on-pack claims against substantiation and compliance requirements
  • Assess shelf performance using visual hierarchy, facings and competitor pack audits
  • Plan integrated packaging launches across retail, e-commerce and trade channels
  • Present a complete food packaging and marketing proposal with supporting rationale

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce clearer packaging briefs for designers, agencies and packaging suppliers
  • Make defensible decisions on claims, hierarchy, formats and brand expression
  • Critique packaging concepts using shopper evidence rather than personal preference
  • Lead more productive reviews with commercial, technical and regulatory stakeholders
  • Build a portfolio-ready packaging marketing proposal for a live product range

For your organisation

  • Reduce rework caused by unclear packaging briefs and late-stage stakeholder changes
  • Improve shelf recognition and product findability across crowded food categories
  • Create more consistent brand expression across ranges, variants and pack sizes
  • Lower compliance and reputation risks from unsupported or confusing on-pack claims
  • Improve launch readiness through aligned retail, e-commerce and trade materials

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how packaging influences food choice, brand meaning and commercial performance.

  • Packaging roles across protection, information, convenience, differentiation and purchase conversion
  • Consumer purchase occasions shaping food pack expectations and decision criteria
  • The five-second shelf test and rapid visual processing principles
  • Category codes, shopper habits and points of meaningful brand distinction
  • Pack performance links between recognition, trial, repeat purchase and loyalty
  • Mapping stakeholders from product development through retail execution and consumer use

Participants can identify priority shopper needs and translate them into packaging opportunities.

  • Jobs to be Done interviews for food purchase and consumption occasions
  • Consumer decision trees identifying entry points, barriers and choice criteria
  • Segmentation variables including dietary needs, household type and usage occasion
  • Shopper missions across planned, impulse, replenishment and discovery purchases
  • Turning qualitative findings into packaging implications and design hypotheses
  • Distinguishing stated preferences from observed shopper behaviour and purchase data

Participants can analyse category conventions and identify defensible packaging differentiation opportunities.

  • Category audit covering price tiers, formats, claims, colours and shelf blocks
  • Competitor pack mapping by proposition, target user and visual territory
  • White-space analysis separating genuine opportunities from unsupported novelty
  • Retailer own-brand strategies and implications for branded food products
  • Comparing premium, mainstream and value cues within food packaging systems
  • Evidence standards for competitor observations, photographs and shelf audit findings

Participants can build a focused positioning platform for a food product or range.

  • Brand positioning statement built from audience, frame, benefit and reason
  • Functional, emotional and social benefits in food brand choice
  • Reason-to-believe development from ingredients, sourcing, process and product proof
  • Defining brand personality without generic adjectives or contradictory messages
  • Positioning trade-offs between taste, health, convenience, value and provenance
  • Testing positioning clarity against category alternatives and shopper priorities

Participants can organise food portfolios so shoppers find products and variants easily.

  • Masterbrand, sub-brand and endorsed-brand structures for food portfolios
  • Range architecture using product type, flavour, benefit and occasion cues
  • Variant naming systems that reduce confusion at shelf and online
  • Pack-size ladders for trial, household use, sharing and foodservice
  • Visual consistency rules across core lines, limited editions and innovations
  • Managing brand stretch without weakening consumer expectations or trust

Participants can specify a visual hierarchy that improves recognition and product comprehension.

  • Visual hierarchy ordered through brand, product, benefit and variant information
  • Gestalt principles applied to grouping, contrast, proximity and figure-ground
  • Typography choices for legibility, tone, pack sizes and viewing distance
  • Colour coding systems for variants, flavours, dietary attributes and ranges
  • Front-of-pack focal points and clutter reduction techniques
  • Reading paths tested from shelf distance, hand distance and mobile screens

Participants can assess how pack structure supports product use, perception and brand promise.

  • Structural formats matched to consumption, storage, dispensing and portability needs
  • Opening, reclosing and portioning features that affect product experience
  • Material cues influencing perceptions of freshness, quality, safety and value
  • Pack ergonomics for children, older consumers and limited-dexterity users
  • Unboxing and first-use moments that reinforce food brand expectations
  • Balancing structural innovation against manufacturing complexity, waste and cost

Participants can organise essential food information without compromising communication clarity.

  • Information hierarchy for mandatory details, product facts and brand messages
  • Ingredient lists, allergen declarations and nutrition panels as design constraints
  • Date marking, storage instructions and preparation guidance for consumer safety
  • Country-specific label adaptation and multilingual packaging planning
  • Front-of-pack nutrition schemes and their visual communication implications
  • Legal review workflows between marketing, regulatory, quality and design teams

Participants can develop credible food claims supported by appropriate evidence and wording.

  • Claims substantiation files linking wording, evidence, approvals and expiry dates
  • Distinguishing nutrition, health, environmental, ethical and sensory claims
  • Qualified language for comparative, free-from and ingredient-origin statements
  • Green claims assessment using ISO 14021 self-declared environmental claims
  • Avoiding misleading imagery, implied benefits and material consumer omissions
  • Claim approval matrices assigning ownership to marketing, legal and technical teams

Participants can make marketing-informed sustainability choices without overstating environmental benefits.

  • Packaging sustainability criteria covering material, weight, recyclability and food protection
  • Life-cycle trade-offs between waste prevention, transport efficiency and end-of-life
  • Recyclability instructions written for consumer action and local collection systems
  • Refill, reuse and concentrated formats assessed against actual user behaviour
  • Supplier evidence required before environmental messages reach consumer packaging
  • Aligning sustainability commitments with product quality, safety and price expectations

Participants can write a clear packaging brief that guides agencies and cross-functional teams.

  • Brief objectives linked to business goals, shopper behaviour and brand positioning
  • Single-minded proposition expressed through product benefit and supporting proof
  • Mandatory requirements covering format, dimensions, materials, copy and legal information
  • Design guardrails defining assets, hierarchy, exclusions and portfolio relationships
  • Success measures for recognition, comprehension, preference and shelf standout
  • Approval gates, decision rights and version control for packaging projects

Participants can manage packaging development with creative agencies, printers and suppliers.

  • Selecting agency partners through relevant category experience and evaluation criteria
  • Creative briefing meetings that clarify tensions, priorities and non-negotiables
  • Concept review methods separating strategic feedback from subjective taste
  • Artwork handover requirements for printers, converters and prepress teams
  • Managing prototypes, colour proofs, mock-ups and production trial approvals
  • Escalation routes for late changes affecting cost, timing or compliance

Participants can evaluate and improve food packaging performance in physical retail environments.

  • Shelf audits recording facings, adjacency, blocking, heights and competitor visibility
  • Planogram reading for package dimensions, shelf placement and product flow
  • Brand blocking techniques across variants, formats and multiple shelf positions
  • Retailer-specific packaging considerations for supermarkets, convenience and wholesale
  • Point-of-sale materials that reinforce packaging messages without duplication
  • Photographic shelf evidence converted into prioritised packaging improvement actions

Participants can adapt packaging communication for digital product pages and online grocery search.

  • Primary product image requirements for online grocery search and recognition
  • Thumbnail readability tested for mobile screens, marketplaces and retailer applications
  • Digital content hierarchy across images, bullet points, descriptions and enhanced content
  • Pack shots showing size, ingredients, claims and preparation information clearly
  • Search terms aligned with shopper language, dietary needs and product attributes
  • Managing consistency between physical packaging and retailer product data

Participants can align packaging choices with perceived value, price architecture and commercial constraints.

  • Price-pack architecture across entry, core, premium and family-size options
  • Value cues from materials, finishes, quantity, ingredient stories and convenience
  • Unit price communication and shopper perceptions of fairness and value
  • Packaging cost drivers including materials, print complexity, tooling and line speed
  • Margin implications of pack format changes and promotional mechanics
  • Trade-offs between premium expression, affordability and operational feasibility

Participants can plan packaging workstreams for new food products and brand relaunches.

  • Stage-gate packaging workflow from concept approval through market launch
  • Critical path planning for research, artwork, testing, production and distribution
  • Relaunch migration plans managing old packs, retailer stock and consumer recognition
  • Risk registers covering supply, compliance, quality, retailer and reputational issues
  • Cross-functional launch meetings with defined inputs, decisions and accountabilities
  • Post-launch review criteria for sales, complaints, returns and shopper feedback

Participants can select proportionate research methods for packaging decisions and interpret results.

  • Packaging research questions framed around recognition, comprehension, preference and usability
  • Monadic and sequential concept tests for comparing packaging alternatives
  • Shelf simulation methods measuring findability, standout and purchase intent
  • Qualitative interviews probing meanings, trust cues and sources of confusion
  • Sample selection considerations for target shoppers, buyers and product users
  • Decision rules distinguishing directional feedback from evidence requiring redesign

Participants can define measures that show packaging contribution to commercial and brand outcomes.

  • Packaging KPI trees linking design inputs to commercial and brand outcomes
  • Sales measures including distribution, rate of sale, repeat and mix
  • Brand measures covering awareness, recognition, associations and consideration
  • Retail execution metrics for availability, facings, compliance and display quality
  • Consumer feedback sources including reviews, contacts, complaints and returns
  • Test-and-learn plans with baselines, hypotheses, owners and review dates

Participants can establish governance that keeps packaging decisions timely, evidenced and accountable.

  • RACI matrices for marketing, regulatory, quality, procurement and operations decisions
  • Decision logs recording rationale, evidence, approvals and unresolved risks
  • Packaging change-control procedures for artwork, claims, materials and suppliers
  • Supplier quality agreements affecting packaging consistency and product protection
  • Issue triage methods for urgent label errors and marketplace corrections
  • Governance calendars aligned with annual plans, launches and regulatory deadlines

Participants can build, review and present a complete food packaging and marketing proposal for a selected product or range.

  • Capstone proposal integrating insight, positioning, packaging architecture and channel strategy
  • Packaging brief supported by visual hierarchy, claims and sustainability decisions
  • Shelf and e-commerce assessments demonstrating product visibility and comprehension
  • Launch plan covering agencies, suppliers, retailers, timelines and approval gates
  • Measurement framework specifying KPIs, data sources, targets and review cadence
  • Stakeholder presentation defending recommendations, trade-offs, risks and next actions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Food packaging marketing plan template
  2. Brand positioning platform
  3. Agency-ready packaging brief
  4. On-pack claims approval checklist
  5. Shelf and e-commerce audit model
  6. Packaging launch measurement framework

Who should attend

  • Brand Managers — responsible for strengthening food brand preference and pack consistency
  • Product Managers — translating product propositions into commercially effective packaging
  • Packaging Managers — aligning pack formats, materials and marketing requirements
  • Category Managers — improving shelf performance, range architecture and retailer presentation
  • Marketing Executives — supporting packaging projects, launches and agency coordination
  • Private-Label Managers — creating credible own-brand ranges within retailer constraints

Skills and tools covered

Shopper insight analysisFood brand positioningPackaging brief developmentOn-pack claims controlShelf visibility analysisPackaging launch planning

Tools and standards

Jobs to be Done, Gestalt principles, RACI matrix, ISO 14021

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by food-category cases, pack comparisons, facilitated group analysis and simulated review meetings. Participants assess real packaging examples from supermarkets, convenience retail and e-commerce listings, then apply the methods to a selected product or range. Peer critiques test the clarity of positioning, visual hierarchy, claims and channel fit. Individual application planning connects course outputs to current packaging, relaunch or new product projects.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic experience in marketing, brand management, product development, packaging, category management or food commercial roles. They should understand their organisation's products, target customers and sales channels, and be able to discuss a current packaging challenge or product range. Prior experience of design software, packaging engineering, consumer research analysis or advertising agency management is not required. The course teaches the marketing and decision-making methods needed to work productively with specialist designers, regulatory advisers, manufacturers and retailers.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need basic familiarity with food products, marketing, packaging, category management or commercial work. Specialist design, regulatory, engineering and consumer research experience is not required.

Bring details of a current food product, packaging challenge or product range where possible. Product images, existing briefs, shopper feedback and sales information are useful, but not mandatory.

It is designed for professionals who influence food packaging, branding, product launches or retail presentation. Brand, product, packaging, category, private-label and marketing professionals will gain the most direct application.

The course focuses on the commercial decisions where food packaging, shopper behaviour, labelling, claims, retail execution and e-commerce meet. It does not teach graphic design software or packaging engineering specification in depth.

Participants build a packaging marketing proposal around a chosen product or range during the programme. The resulting brief, audit methods, approval tools and measurement plan can be adapted for active projects after the course.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes insight, positioning, packaging and labelling methods; the second week addresses execution, testing, governance and the final proposal presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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